System and method of accessing contact information on a communication device

ABSTRACT

In accordance with the teachings described herein, systems and methods are provided for accessing contact information on a communication device. A communication subsystem may be used to send and receive communications over a communication network. A memory module may be used to store data and program information, including a plurality of contact records. A processor may be used to store and retrieve data in the memory module, execute programs stored in the memory module, and cause the communication subsystem to transmit and receive communications over the communication network. A contact information logic unit program may be stored in the memory module and executed by the processor. The contact information logic unit program may be used to cause the communication device to identify a network identifier in a communication, compare the network identifier with contact information in the plurality of contact records stored in the memory module to identify contact information matching the network identifier, and if contact information is identified in more than one contact record matching the network identifier, then display a contact record field than is associated with each of the identified contact records.

FIELD

The technology described in this patent document relates generally tothe field of communication devices. More particularly, the patentdocument describes a system and method for accessing contact informationon a communication device.

BACKGROUND

Communication devices having a contact information store used to displaycontact information, such as a name and telephone number, for anincoming communication are known in this field. For example, a typicalmobile communication device may match a network identifier (e.g., atelephone number) in an incoming call with records in a contactinformation store to display the name of the caller. However, thiscaller identification method does not account for the possibility thatthe same network identifier may be associated with multiple records inthe contact information store. For example, if a mobile communicationdevice has stored contact information records for persons named X and Ywho work at the same company and thus have the same business telephonenumber, when Y telephones from her place of business, the mobilecommunication device may incorrectly display “X” to identify the caller.

SUMMARY

In accordance with the teachings described herein, systems and methodsare provided for accessing contact information on a communicationdevice. A communication subsystem may be used to send and receivecommunications over a communication network. A memory module may be usedto store data and program information, including a plurality of contactrecords. A processor may be used to store and retrieve data in thememory module, execute programs stored in the memory module, and causethe communication subsystem to transmit and receive communications overthe communication network. A contact information logic unit program maybe stored in the memory module and executed by the processor. Thecontact information logic unit program may be used to cause thecommunication device to identify a network identifier in acommunication, compare the network identifier with contact informationin the plurality of contact records stored in the memory module toidentify contact information matching the network identifier, and ifcontact information is identified in more than one contact recordmatching the network identifier, then display a contact record fieldthan is associated with the identified contact records.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an example communication system;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a mobile communication device having acontact information logic unit for accessing contact information in acontact information store;

FIG. 3 is a table illustrating an example contact information store;

FIG. 4 is a diagram of an example telephone number format;

FIG. 5 is a flow chart illustrating an example method of accessing acontact information store; and

FIG. 6 is a more-detailed block diagram of an example mobilecommunication device.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

With reference now to the drawing figures, FIG. 1 is a block diagram ofan example communication system, including a wireless network 102, 104,a computer network (e.g. the Internet), and a telephone network 114.Also illustrated are a mobile communication device 100, a telephone 118and a personal computer 108, all of which are examples of communicationdevices that may send and receive communications via the communicationsystem.

The telephone 118 accesses the communication system via the telephonenetwork 114. The mobile communication device 100 accesses thecommunication system via the wireless network 102, 104. The personalcomputer 108 accesses the communication system via the computer network112. Since the wireless network 102, 104, computer network 112, andtelephone network 114 are all interconnected, each communication device100, 108, 118 in the system can request and establish a networkconnection for voice communication (e.g., a telephone call) with each ofthe other communication devices that are connected to the system.

It should be understood that the communication system illustrated inFIG. I represents one illustrative example communication system.However, other system topologies could also be used. For example, inaddition to voice communication capabilities, the mobile communicationdevice 100 may also be configured for data communications via a datacommunication network and the Internet 112.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a mobile communication device 216 having acontact information logic unit 210 for accessing contact information ina contact information store 214. The mobile communication device 216also includes a wireless transceiver 202, a processor 204, a memorymodule 206 and a user interface 212. Also illustrated are a wirelesscommunication 200 (e.g., a telephone call) transmitted or received bythe mobile communication device 216 via a wireless network, and anetwork identifier 208 (e.g., a telephone number) included in thecommunication 200.

The wireless transceiver 202 enables the mobile communication device 216to send and receive communications 200 over a communication system via awireless network 102, 104. The wireless transceiver 202 may, forexample, include a single transceiver circuit or separate receiver andtransmitter circuits. In addition, the wireless transceiver 202 may beincluded in a communication subsystem, as described below with referenceto FIG. 6.

The memory module 206 may include a memory device or combination ofmemory devices (e.g., Flash memory, random access memory (RAM), etc.),and is used by the mobile communication device 216 to store and retrievedata, programs, and/or other information. The contact information store214 is included in the memory module 206, and is used to store contactinformation relating to other communication devices. An example contactinformation store 214 is described below with reference to FIG. 3.

The user interface 212 may include may include input device (e.g., akeyboard, a keypad, a thumbwheel, a touchscreen, etc.) and one or moreoutput device (e.g., a display, a speaker, etc.).

The processor 204 may, for example, include of a microprocessor, adigital signal processor (DSP), and/or other processing device(s). Theprocessor 204 is coupled to the wireless transceiver, the memory moduleand the user interface, and is operable to control the operation of themobile communication device 216. For example, the processor 204 may beoperable to send and receive data from the user interface 212, to storeand retrieve data in the memory module 206, to execute programs storedin the memory module 206, and to cause the wireless transceiver 202 totransmit and receive information over the communication system.

The contact information logic unit 210 may, for example, be a programstored in the memory module 206 and executed by the processor 204. Thecontact information logic unit 210 is operable to search the contactinformation store 214 to identify contact information records relatingto a received network identifier 208, and to retrieve the identifiedcontact information for display by the user interface 212.

In operation, when the mobile communication device 216 receives acommunication request 200 for a telephone call, the telephone number 208is received by the wireless transceiver 202 and sent to the processor204, where it is processed by the contact information logic unit 210.Alternatively, for outgoing calls, the telephone number is provided tothe contact information logic unit 210 by the user via the userinterface 212. The contact information logic unit 210 uses the telephonenumber 208 to search the contact information store 214 for contactinformation which is associated with the telephone number. Thisinformation may, for example, include the first name, last name andcompany name from one or more contacts in the contact information store214 (see, e.g., FIG. 3).

The contact information logic unit 210 searches for contact informationby attempting to match the telephone number 208 with telephone numbersstored in the contact information store 214, and then retrieves therecords in which the matched fields are contained. A field may beconsidered to match the received telephone number if the last sevendigits of the received telephone number (excluding private branchextension (PBX) numbers) are the same as the last seven digits of thetelephone number in the value of the field. In this manner, it is morelikely that a received telephone number will properly match a telephonenumber field whose value only includes the local portion of a telephonenumber without an area code or country code as well as internationaltelephone number formats.

The contact information logic unit 210 then processes the identifiedrecords to retrieve contact information for display via the userinterface 212. The type of contact information displayed is determinedby the number of identified contact information records. For example, ifno records are identified with matching telephone number fields, thenthe received telephone number 208 is displayed. If one matching contactinformation record is identified, then the contact information logicunit 210 may display one or more name field from the identified record,such as a first name field and a last name field 316. If more than onematching contact information record is identified, however, then thecontact information logic unit 210 may display a contact record fieldthat is common to the identified contact records. For example, if thematching records each identify the same business entity name, then thiscommon business name may be displayed by the contact information logicunit 210 instead of a more specific field, such as a first or last namefield. In another example, if the received telephone number matches ahome number field in multiple records, and the matching records eachinclude the same last name field, then the common last name field may bedisplayed. In other cases where multiple records are identified, thetelephone number 208 may be displayed, or alternatively, the first nameand last name from the first record found may be displayed. An exampleoperation of the contact information logic unit 210 is described in moredetail below with reference to FIG. 5.

FIG. 3 is a table illustrating an example contact information store 214.The contact information store is configured to store contact informationrecords 300, 302, 304, 306, 308, 310 associated with other mobilecommunication devices. Each contact information record contains contactinformation for one contact. The contact information in a contactinformation record is divided into a plurality of fields, each having aname and a value. Example field names include “first name” 314, “lastname” 316, “title” 318, “company” 320, “business telephone number” 322,“home telephone number” 324, “email address” 326, and “physical address”328. Each field value may include information of a type described by itsname, or may contain no information. For example, the illustratedcontact information record for John Doe 300 has values for the fieldsnamed “first name” (“John”), “last name” (“Doe”), “home telephonenumber” (“555-1234”), and “physical address” (“12 Main St.”), whereasthe contact information record for Jacques Lachance 310 has values forall of the field names in the contact information store.

It should be understood that the example field names illustrated in FIG.3 may be modified without affecting the meaning of the fields. Forexample, the field named “business telephone number” could instead benamed “work telephone number”. A contact information store may alsocontain fewer fields or additional fields. Also, the values of thefields in FIG. 3 are for illustrative purposes only. The actual valuesof fields in a contact information store may, for example, be entered bya user of a communication device on which the contact information storeis implemented.

In addition, a mobile communication device may use a data structurestored in the memory module 206 to provide a more efficient means ofretrieving contact information from the contact information store 214.For example, a hash table may be used that is organized into keys andvalues. Given a particular key, a hash table returns a value associatedwith that key in a shorter time period than would be required tosequentially search through all of the data until that value is found.The keys for the hash table may, for example, be the last seven digitsfrom the telephone numbers in the contact information store 214. Thevalues for the hash table may then be the contact information records.

FIG. 4 is a diagram of an example telephone number format. A telephonenumber is an example of a network identifier, which is used to identifya resource (i.e., a communication device) in a communication system. Thetelephone number format includes sections for a country code 400, anarea code 402, a local number 404 and an extension 406. The country code400 is a number that identifies a country. The area code 402 is a numberthat identifies a region in a country. The local number 404 identifies atelephone line within a region. The extension 406 is an optional sectionthat identifies a particular telephone that is typically part of anorganization that uses a PBX (Private Branch Extension) as anintermediary between a number of telephone lines and a potentiallygreater number of telephones.

FIG. 5 is a flow chart illustrating an example method of accessing acontact information store. In this example, the network identifier is atelephone number and the contact information store contains at leastcontact record fields named “first name,” “last name,” “businesstelephone number” and “company.” It should be understood, however, thatsimilar methods may be employed using different network identifiers anddifferent contact record fields.

At step 500, a telephone number (i.e., network identifier) is receivedby the mobile communication device. The telephone number may, forexample, be included in a communication received from a communicationsystem, or may be provided to the mobile communication device via theuser interface by a user wishing to initiate a telephone call. Then, atstep 502, the contact information store is searched to identify contactinformation records having contact record fields with values matchingthe received telephone number, as described above.

In addition, if a hash table is used to enhance the speed of the search,then, before any telephone numbers are received at step 500, a hashtable may be created and stored in a memory module. The hash table keysmay be the last seven digits of the phone numbers in the contactinformation store, excluding extensions, and the hash table values maybe the contact information records. The searching step 502 may then usethe last seven digits of the received telephone number, excludingextension, as a key into the hash table to retrieve the matchingrecords.

At decision step 506, if no matching contact records have beenidentified, then the received telephone number is displayed at step 504,and the method ends. If at least one matching contact record isidentified, however, then the method continues from decision step 506 tostep 510. At step 510, the contact information store is searched foradditional matching records, possibly using a hash table as describedabove. If no additional records are found, as determined at decisionstep 512, then contact information from the single matching record isdisplayed at step 508, and the method ends. The contact informationdisplayed at step 508 may, for example, include the values for the firstname and last name fields. Otherwise, if additional matching records areidentified, then the method continues from decision step 512 to step514.

At steps 514-520, the identified contact records are examined todetermine whether the records are associated with an identifiablebusiness entity. At step 516, the method determines if the matchingvalue in each of the identified records is included in the “businesstelephone number” field. If the matching values in the identifiedrecords are not all business telephone numbers, then the receivedtelephone number is displayed at step 504, and the method ends. If thematching values in the identified records are all business telephonenumbers, however, then the method continues to step 518.

At step 518, the “company” field in each of the identified records foundis examined. If, at step 520, one of the examined company fields is notempty, then the value for that company field is displayed to the user atstep 522. The examination at step 518 stops once a non-empty companyfield is found. If all of the company fields in the found records haveempty values, then the received telephone number is displayed at step504.

It should be understood that the method of FIG. 5 may be used withcontact record fields common to a group of records, other than theillustrated business name and company name fields. For example, if areceived call matches the home telephone number field in multiplecontact records, then the method may display other record fields commonto the identified records, such as a last name field or a household namefield.

Cross-referencing the method of FIG. 5 with the example contactinformation store of FIG. 3, a mobile communication device receiving acommunication from telephone number “555-8888” may perform the followingoperations. At method step 502, the mobile communication device willidentify one of three contact records 304, 306, 308 that include thereceived telephone number “555-8888.” The method will then proceed tostep 510 and will identify the additional two contact records thatinclude the “555-8888” telephone number in a record field. At step 516,the method will then determine that the received number is included inthe “business telephone number” field in each of the three identifiedrecords. At step 518, the method will locate a non-empty “company”field, which if examined in order will be the company name “Acme.” Theidentified “company” field will then be displayed at step 522 and themethod will end.

In another example, if a mobile device executing the method of FIG. 5and including the contact information store of FIG. 3 received acommunication including the telephone number “555-1234,” then the methodwould proceed as follows. At steps 502 and 506, the method wouldidentify one of two contact information records 300, 302 including thereceived “555-1234” telephone number. Then, at step 510, the methodwould identify the second contact information record including the“555-1234” number in one of its telephone number fields. At step 516,the method will determine that the identified fields containing the“555-1234” value are not business telephone number fields. Thus, themethod will proceed to step 504 and display the value “555-1234.”

FIG. 6 is a more-detailed block diagram of an example mobilecommunication device 610 that may include the contact information logicunit 210 and contact information store 214 described above. The mobilecommunication device 610 includes a transceiver 611, a microprocessor638, a display 622, Flash memory 624, RAM memory 626, auxiliaryinput/output (I/O) devices 628, a serial port 630, a keyboard 632, aspeaker 634, a microphone 636, a short-range wireless communicationssub-system 640, and may also include other device sub-systems 642. Thetransceiver 611 preferably includes transmit and receive antennas 616,618, a receiver 612, a transmitter 614, one or more local oscillators613, and a digital signal processor 620. Within the Flash memory 624,the mobile device 610 preferably includes a plurality of softwaremodules 624A-624N that can be executed by the microprocessor 638 (and/orthe DSP 620), including a voice communication module 624A, a datacommunication module 624B, and a plurality of other operational modules624N for carrying out a plurality of other functions, such as thecontact information logic unit 210.

The mobile communication device 610 is preferably a two-waycommunication device having voice and data communication capabilities.Thus, the mobile device 610 may communicate over a voice network, suchas any of the analog or digital cellular networks, and may alsocommunicate over a data network. The voice and data networks aredepicted in FIG. 6 by the communication tower 619. These voice and datanetworks may be separate communication networks using separateinfrastructure, such as base stations, network controllers, etc., or maybe integrated into a single wireless network.

The communication subsystem 611 is used to communicate with the voiceand data network 619, and includes the receiver 612, the transmitter614, the one or more local oscillators 613, and may also include the DSP620. The DSP 620 is used to send and receive signals to and from thetransmitter 614 and receiver 612, and is also utilized to receivecontrol information from the transmitter 614 and to provide controlinformation to the receiver 612. If the voice and data communicationsoccur at a single frequency, or closely-spaced set of frequencies, thena single local oscillator 613 may be used in conjunction with thetransmitter 614 and receiver 612. Alternatively, if differentfrequencies are utilized for voice communications versus datacommunications, then a plurality of local oscillators 613 can be used togenerate a plurality of frequencies corresponding to the voice and datanetworks 619. Although two antennas 616, 618 are depicted in FIG. 6, themobile communication device 610 could be used with a single antennastructure. Information, which includes both voice and data information,is communicated to and from the communication module 611 via a linkbetween the DSP 620 and the microprocessor 638.

The detailed design of the communication subsystem 611, such asfrequency band, component selection, power level, etc., is dependentupon the communication network 619 in which the mobile device 610 isintended to operate. For example, a mobile communication device 610 mayinclude a communication subsystem 611 designed to operate with theMobitex™ DataTAC™ or General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) mobile datacommunication networks and also designed to operated with any of avariety of voice communication networks, such as AMPS, TDMA, CDMA, PCS,GSM, etc. Other types of data and voice networks, both separate andintegrated, may also be utilized with the mobile communication device610.

Depending upon the type of network or networks 619, the accessrequirements for the mobile communication device 610 may also vary. Forexample, in the Mobitex and DataTAC data networks, mobile devices areregistered on the network using a unique identification numberassociated with each device. In GPRS data networks, however, networkaccess is associated with a subscriber or user of a mobile device. AGPRS device typically requires a subscriber identity module (“SIN4”),which is required in order to operate a mobile device on a GPRS network.Local or non-network communication functions (if any) may be operable,without the SIM, but a mobile communication device may be unable tocarry out any functions involving communications over the data network619, other than any legally required operations, such as 911 emergencycalling.

After any required network registration or activation procedures havebeen completed, the mobile communication device 610 may send and receivecommunication signals, including both voice and data signals, over thenetwork 619 (or networks). Signals received by the antenna 616 from thecommunication network 619 are routed to the receiver 612, which providesfor signal amplification, frequency down conversion, filtering, channelselection, etc., and may also provide analog to digital conversion.Analog to digital conversion of the received signal allows more complexcommunication functions, such as digital demodulation and decoding, tobe performed using the DSP 620. In a similar manner, signals to betransmitted to the network 619 are processed (e.g., modulated andencoded) by the DSP 620 and are then provided to the transmitter 614 fordigital to analog conversion, frequency up conversion, filtering,amplification and transmission to the communication network 619 (ornetworks) via the antenna 618. Although a single transceiver 611 isshown in FIG. 6 for both voice and data communications, it is possiblethat the mobile communication device 610 may include two distincttransceivers, a first transceiver for transmitting and receiving voicesignals, and a second transceiver for transmitting and receiving datasignals.

In addition to processing the communication signals, the DSP 620 alsoprovides for receiver and transmitter control. For example, the gainlevels applied to communication signals in the receiver 612 andtransmitter 614 may be adaptively controlled through automatic gaincontrol algorithms implemented in the DSP 620. Other transceiver controlalgorithms could also be implemented in the DSP 620 to provide moresophisticated control of the transceiver 611.

The microprocessor 638 preferably manages and controls the overalloperation of the mobile communication device 610. Many types ofmicroprocessors or microcontrollers could be used, or, alternatively, asingle DSP 620 could be used to carry out the functions of themicroprocessor 638. Low-level communication functions, including dataand voice communications, are performed through the DSP 620 in thetransceiver 611. Other, high-level communication applications, such as avoice communication application 624A and a data communicationapplication 624B, may be stored in the Flash memory 624 for execution bythe microprocessor 638. For example, the voice communication module 624Amay provide a high-level user interface operable to transmit and receivevoice calls between the mobile communication device 610 and a pluralityof other voice devices via the network 619. Similarly, the datacommunication module 624B may provide a high-level user interfaceoperable to send and receive data, such as e-mail messages, files,organizer information, short text messages, etc., between the dual-modemobile device 610 and a plurality of other data devices via the network619. In the mobile communication device 610, a system or method ofaccessing contact information may also be implemented as a softwaremodule or application, or incorporated into a software module, such asthe voice communication module 624A, which uses contact information.

The microprocessor 638 also interacts with other mobile devicesubsystems, such as the display 622, Flash memory 624, random accessmemory (RAM) 626, auxiliary input/output (I/O) subsystems 628, serialport 630, keyboard 632, speaker 634, microphone 636, short-rangecommunications subsystem 640 and any other mobile device subsystemsgenerally designated at reference numeral 642.

Some of the subsystems shown in FIG. 6 perform communication-relatedfunctions, whereas other subsystems may provide “resident” or on-devicefunctions. In addition, some subsystems, such as keyboard 632 anddisplay 622 may be used for both communication-related functions, suchas entering a text message for transmission over a data communicationnetwork, and device-resident functions such as a calculator or task listor other PDA type functions.

Operating system software used by the microprocessor 638 is preferablystored in a persistent store such as Flash memory 624. In addition tothe operation system, which controls all of the low-level functions ofthe mobile device 610, the Flash memory 624 may include a plurality ofhigh-level software application programs, or modules, such as a voicecommunication module 624A, a data communication module 624B, anorganizer module, or any other type of software module 624N. The Flashmemory 624 also may include a file system for storing data. Thesemodules are executed by the microprocessor 638 and provide a high-levelinterface between a user of the mobile device and the mobile device.This interface typically includes a graphical component provided throughthe display 622, and an input/output component provided through theauxiliary I/O 628, keyboard 632, speaker 634, and microphone 636. Theoperating system, specific mobile device software applications ormodules, or parts thereof, may be temporarily loaded into a volatilestore, such as RAM 626, for faster operation. Moreover, receivedcommunication signals may also be temporarily stored to RAM 626 beforebeing permanently written to a file system located in the persistentstore 624.

An exemplary application module 624N that may be loaded onto the mobilecommunication device 610 is a personal information manager (PIM)application providing PDA functionality, such as calendar events,appointments, and task items. This module 624N may interact with thevoice communication module 624A for managing phone calls, voice mails,etc., and may also interact with the data communication module formanaging e-mail communications and other data transmissions.Alternatively, all of the functionality of the voice communicationmodule 624A and the data communication module 624B may be integratedinto the PIM module.

The Flash memory 624 preferably provides a file system to facilitatestorage of PIM data items on the mobile communication device 610. ThePIM application preferably includes the ability to send and receive dataitems, either by itself, or in conjunction with the voice and datacommunication modules 624A, 624B, via the wireless network 619. The PIMdata items are preferably seamlessly integrated, synchronized andupdated, via the wireless network 619, with a corresponding set of dataitems stored or associated with a host computer system, thereby creatinga mirrored system for data items associated with a particular user.Contact information is also preferably stored to the Flash memory 624.

The mobile device 610 may also be manually synchronized with a hostsystem by placing the mobile device 610 in an interface cradle, whichcouples the serial port 630 of the mobile device 610 to the serial portof the host system. The serial port 630 may also be used to enable auser to set preferences through an external device or softwareapplication, or to download other application modules 624N forinstallation.

Additional application modules 624N may be loaded onto the mobilecommunication device 610 through the network 619, through an auxiliary1/O subsystem 628, through the serial port 630, through the short-rangecommunications subsystem 640, or through any other suitable subsystem642, and installed by a user in the Flash memory 624 or RAM 626. Suchflexibility in application installation increases the functionality ofthe mobile device 610 and may provide enhanced on-device functions,communication-related functions, or both. For example, securecommunication applications may enable electronic commerce functions andother such financial transactions to be performed using the mobiledevice 610.

When the mobile communication device 610 is operating in a datacommunication mode, a received signal, such as a text message or a webpage download, will be processed by the transceiver 611 and provided tothe microprocessor 638, which will preferably further processthe-received signal for output to the display 622, or, alternatively, toan auxiliary I/O device 628. A device user may also compose data items,such as email messages, using the keyboard 632, which is preferably acomplete alphanumeric keyboard laid out in the QWERTY style, althoughother styles of complete alphanumeric keyboards such as the known DVORAKstyle may also be used. User input to the mobile device 610 is furtherenhanced with a plurality of auxiliary I/O devices 628, which mayinclude a thumbwheel input device, a touchpad, a variety of switches, arocker input switch, etc. The composed data items input by the user maythen be transmitted over the communication network 619 via thetransceiver 611.

When the dual-mode mobile device 610 is operating in a voicecommunication mode, the overall operation of the mobile device 610 issubstantially similar to the data mode, except that received signals arepreferably output to the speaker 634 and voice signals for transmissionare generated by a microphone 636. Alternative voice or audio 1/Osubsystems, such as a voice message recording subsystem, may also beimplemented on the mobile device 610. Although voice or audio signaloutput is preferably accomplished primarily through the speaker 634, thedisplay 622 may also be used to provide an indication of the identity ofa calling party, the duration of a voice call, or other voice callrelated information. For example, the microprocessor 638, in conjunctionwith the voice communication module and the operating system software,may detect the caller identification information of an incoming voicecall and display it on the display 622, as described above.

A short-range communications subsystem 640 is also included in themobile communication device 610. For example, the subsystem 640 mayinclude an infrared device and associated circuits and components, or ashort-range wireless communication module such as a Bluetooth™ module oran 802.11 module to provide for communication with similarly-enabledsystems and devices.

This written description uses examples to disclose the invention,including the best mode, and also to enable a person skilled in the artto make and use the invention. The patentable scope of the invention mayinclude other examples that occur to those skilled in the art. Forexample, although systems and methods for accessing contact informationare described primarily as being implemented on a mobile communicationdevice, these systems and methods could also be implemented on othertypes of communication devices, including a telephone and a personalcomputer. Also, the network identifier used to retrieve information froma contact information store is described primary as a telephone number,however, it could be a network identifier used by another network, suchas an Internet Protocol (IP) address.

1. A method of accessing contact information on a communication device,comprising: receiving a communication from a communication network withthe communication device; identifying a network identifier in thereceived communication; comparing the network identifier with contactinformation in a plurality of contact records stored in thecommunication device to identify contact information matching thenetwork identifier; if no contact information is identified matching thenetwork identifier, then displaying the network identifier; if contactinformation is identified in one contact record matching the networkidentifier, then displaying a name field from the one identified contactrecord; and if contact information is identified in more than onecontact record matching the network identifier, then displaying a fieldthat is common to the identified contact records.
 2. The method of claim1, wherein the field that is common to the identified contact recordsidentifies a business entity name that is common to the identifiedcontact records.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein if the identifiedcontact records do not include a common field, then displaying thenetwork identifier.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the communicationnetwork is a telephone network and the network identifier is a telephonenumber.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein if no contact information isidentified in one contact record matching the network identifier, thendisplaying a last name field and a first name field from the oneidentified contact record.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein if contactinformation is identified in more than one contact record matching thenetwork identifier, then: determining if the matching contactinformation in each of the identified contact records is associated witha business entity; if the matching contact information in each of theidentified contact records is associated with a business entity, thendisplaying a business entity field from one of the identified contactrecords.
 7. The method of claim 6, wherein a business telephone numberfield is examined in each of the identified contact records to determineif the matching contact information in each of the identified contactrecords is associated with a business entity.
 8. The method of claim 6,wherein if the matching contact information in each of the identifiedcontact records is not associated with a business entity, thendisplaying the network identifier.
 9. The method of claim 6, wherein ifnone of the identified contact records include a business entity field,then displaying the network identifier.
 10. The method of claim 1,wherein the field that is common to the identified contact records is alast name field.
 11. The method of claim 1, wherein the communicationdevice is a mobile communication device.
 12. The method of claim 1,wherein the communication device is a telephone.
 13. The method of claim1, wherein the communication device is a personal computer.
 14. Themethod of claim 1, wherein contact information is identified as matchingthe network identifier is a last seven digits of the network identifierare included in the contact information.
 15. The method of claim 1,wherein if contact information is identified in more than one contactrecord matching the network identifier, then: determining if the networkidentifier is included in a home phone number field of the matchingcontact records; determining if the matching contact records eachinclude a common last name field; and if the network identifier isincluded in the home phone number field of the matching contact recordsand the matching contact records each include a common last name field,then displaying the common last name field.
 16. A mobile communicationdevice, comprising: a communication subsystem operable to send andreceive communications over a communication network; a memory moduleoperable to store data and program information, including a plurality ofcontact records; a processor operable to store and retrieve data in thememory module, execute programs stored in the memory module, and causethe communication subsystem to transmit and receive communications overthe communication network; and a contact information logic unit programstored in the memory module and executed by the processor, the contactinformation logic unit program being operable to cause the mobilecommunication device to identify a network identifier in acommunication, compare the network identifier with contact informationin the plurality of contact records stored in the memory module toidentify contact information matching the network identifier, and ifcontact information is identified in more than one contact recordmatching the network identifier, then display a contact record fieldthan is associated with each of the identified contact records.
 17. Themobile communication device of claim 16, wherein if no contactinformation is identified by the contact information logic unit programmatching the network identifier, then the contact information logic unitprogram being operable to display the network identifier.
 18. The mobilecommunication device of claim 16, wherein if contact information isidentified by the contact information logic unit program that matchesonly one contact record, then the contact information logic unit programbeing operable to display a name field from the one identified contactrecord.
 19. The mobile communication device of claim 16, wherein thecontact record field that is associated with each of the identifiedcontact records identifies a business entity name.
 20. The mobilecommunication device of claim 16, wherein the contact record field thatis associated with each of the identified contact records is a businesstelephone number field.